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Bai Y, Zhu C, Feng M, Wei H, Li L, Tian X, Zhao Z, Liu S, Ma N, Zhang X, Shi R, Fu C, Wu Z, Zhang S. Previously claimed male germline stem cells from porcine testis are actually progenitor Leydig cells. Stem Cell Res Ther 2018; 9:200. [PMID: 30021628 PMCID: PMC6052628 DOI: 10.1186/s13287-018-0931-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2018] [Revised: 05/27/2018] [Accepted: 06/14/2018] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Male germline stem cells (mGSCs) offer great promise in regenerative medicine and animal breeding due to their capacity to maintain self-renewal and to transmit genetic information to the next generation following spermatogenesis. Human testis-derived embryonic stem cell-like cells have been shown to possess potential of mesenchymal progenitors, but there remains confusion about the characteristics and origin of porcine testis-derived stem cells. Methods Porcine testis-derived stem cells were obtained from primary testicular cultures of 5-day old piglets, and selectively expanded using culture conditions for long-term culture and induction differentiation. The stem cell properties of porcine testis-derived stem cells were subsequently assessed by determining the expression of pluripotency-associated markers, alkaline phosphatase (AP) activity, and capacity for sperm and multilineage differentiation in vitro. The gene expression profile was compared via microarray analysis. Results We identified two different types of testis-derived stem cells (termed as C1 and C2 here) during porcine testicular cell culture. The gene expression microarray analysis showed that the transcriptome profile of C1 and C2 differed significantly from each other. The C1 appeared to be morphologically similar to the previously described mouse mGSCs, expressed pluripotency- and germ cell-associated markers, maintained the paternal imprinted pattern of H19, displayed alkaline phosphatase activity, and could differentiate into sperm. Together, these data suggest that C1 represent the porcine mGSC population. Conversely, the C2 appeared similar to the previously described porcine mGSCs with three-dimensional morphology, abundantly expressed Leydig cell lineage and mesenchymal cell-specific markers, and could differentiate into testosterone-producing Leydig cells, suggesting that they are progenitor Leydig cells (PLCs). Conclusion Collectively, we have established the expected characteristics and markers of authentic porcine mGSCs (C1). We found for the first time that, the C2, equivalent to previously claimed porcine mGSCs, are actually progenitor Leydig cells (PLCs). These findings provide new insights into the discrepancies among previous reports and future identification and analyses of testis-derived stem cells. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13287-018-0931-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yinshan Bai
- National Engineering Research Center for Breeding Swine Industry, Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Agro-Animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, 483 Wushan Road, Tianhe District, Guangzhou, 510642, China.,School of Life Science and Engineering, Foshan University, Foshan, 528231, China
| | - Cui Zhu
- School of Life Science and Engineering, Foshan University, Foshan, 528231, China
| | - Meiying Feng
- National Engineering Research Center for Breeding Swine Industry, Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Agro-Animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, 483 Wushan Road, Tianhe District, Guangzhou, 510642, China
| | - Hengxi Wei
- National Engineering Research Center for Breeding Swine Industry, Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Agro-Animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, 483 Wushan Road, Tianhe District, Guangzhou, 510642, China
| | - Li Li
- National Engineering Research Center for Breeding Swine Industry, Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Agro-Animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, 483 Wushan Road, Tianhe District, Guangzhou, 510642, China
| | - Xiuchun Tian
- Center for Regenerative Biology, Department of Animal Science, University of Connecticut, 1390 Storrs Road, Storrs, CT, 06269, USA
| | - Zhihong Zhao
- National Engineering Research Center for Breeding Swine Industry, Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Agro-Animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, 483 Wushan Road, Tianhe District, Guangzhou, 510642, China
| | - Shanshan Liu
- Department of Histology and Embryology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 511436, China
| | - Ningfang Ma
- Department of Histology and Embryology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 511436, China
| | - Xianwei Zhang
- National Engineering Research Center for Breeding Swine Industry, Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Agro-Animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, 483 Wushan Road, Tianhe District, Guangzhou, 510642, China
| | - Ruyi Shi
- Key Laboratory of Cellular Physiology, Ministry of Education, Department of Cell Biology and Genetics, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, China
| | - Chao Fu
- Key Laboratory of Cellular Physiology, Ministry of Education, Department of Cell Biology and Genetics, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, China
| | - Zhenfang Wu
- National Engineering Research Center for Breeding Swine Industry, Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Agro-Animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, 483 Wushan Road, Tianhe District, Guangzhou, 510642, China.
| | - Shouquan Zhang
- National Engineering Research Center for Breeding Swine Industry, Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Agro-Animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, 483 Wushan Road, Tianhe District, Guangzhou, 510642, China.
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Expression patterns and role of SDF-1/CXCR4 axis in boar spermatogonial stem cells. Theriogenology 2018; 113:221-228. [PMID: 29573661 DOI: 10.1016/j.theriogenology.2018.03.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2017] [Revised: 03/09/2018] [Accepted: 03/10/2018] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
The signaling of chemokine stromal cell-derived factor (SDF)-1 and its receptor C-X-C motif chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) is involved in the cellular proliferation, survival, and migration of various cell types. Although SDF-1/CXCR4 has been implicated in the maintenance of the spermatogonial population during mouse testis development, their expression patterns and functions in boar testis remain unclear. In the present study, the expression pattern of SDF-1 and CXCR4 was determined during pre-pubertal and post-pubertal stage boar testes and in vitro cultured porcine spermatogonial stem cells (pSSCs). The role of these proteins in colony formation in cultured pSSCs was also investigated. Interestingly, SDF-1 expression was observed in PGP 9.5-positve spermatogonia in all developing stages of boar testis; however, CXCR4 expression was only detected in spermatogonia from 5-day-old boar testis. In addition, SDF-1 and CXCR4 expression was observed in cultured pSSCs from 5-day-old boar testes, and inhibition of the CXCR4 receptor signaling pathway by AMD3100 significantly decreased the colony formation of pSSCs. These results suggest that SDF-1 and CXCR4 are useful markers for detecting stage-specific spermatogonia in boar testis. Our results reveal the role of the SDF-1/CXCR4 axis in pSSC in vitro culture.
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